LAKERS RAILROAD DALLAS : LAKERS 115, DALLAS 102.Byline: Howard Beck Daily News Staff Writer The Dallas Mavericks  The introduction of this article is too short.To comply with Wikipedia's lead section guidelines, it should be expanded. are the loose spike in the track that derails runaway trains. In the last two weeks, the going-nowhere Mavs have jarred the playoff paths of San Antonio San Antonio (săn ăntō`nēō, əntōn`), city (1990 pop. 935,933), seat of Bexar co., S central Tex., at the source of the San Antonio River; inc. 1837. , Phoenix, Minnesota and Houston (twice). The Lakers managed to avoid simulating a wayward Amtrack Amtrack can refer to:
adj. pluck·i·er, pluck·i·est Having or showing courage and spirit in trying circumstances. See Synonyms at brave. pluck underdogs before emerging with a 115-102 victory at the Forum. It took a late re-appearance by Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal (pronounced "shak-KEEL") (born March 6, 1972 in Newark, New Jersey), frequently referred to simply as Shaq, is an American professional basketball player, generally regarded as one of the most dominant in the National Basketball Association (NBA). to finish the job. The Lakers had built a 20-point lead by late in the third quarter, earning O'Neal a long breather on the bench, where by all rights he should have stayed for the rest of the game. But by early in the fourth quarter, Dallas had cut the lead to 88-78 and coach Kurt Rambis Darrell Kurt Rambis (born February 25, 1958 in Cupertino, California) is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. had to agree with the crowd chants of ``We want Shaq.'' O'Neal returned with 9:45 left and four minutes later, after a series of 3-pointers from Rick Fox and Derek Harper Derek Ricardo Harper (born October 13 1961 in Elberton, Georgia) is a former professional basketball player from the University of Illinois, who spent 16 seasons as a point guard in the National Basketball Association with the Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic and , the Lakers had restored a comfortable 20-point lead to secure the victory. Unlike recent O'Neal-Kobe Bryant productions, this Lakers win featured more of an ensemble cast An ensemble cast is a cast in which the principal performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows for flexibility for writers to focus on different . O'Neal got his 26 points and 11 rebounds, and Bryant scored 17 points to go with a career-high 10 assists, but there were plenty of supporting performances: Glen Rice's 20 points, Derek Fisher's 10 points and eight assists, Rick Fox's 11 points off the bench, including eight in the fourth quarter, and Derek Harper's eight-point fourth quarter. And when things got boring at the end, rookie crowd-pleaser Tyronn Lue Tyronn Jamar Lue (born on May 3, 1977 in Mexico, Missouri) is an American professional basketball player who last played with the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA in the 2006-07 season. He is currently an unrestricted free agent. turned on the Forum faithful with a few quick bursts and four points. The Lakers shot better than 50 percent for the second time in three games and collaborated for 30 assists. Coming on the heels of impressive wins over Portland and Seattle, Monday's victory gave the Lakers their first three-game winning streak Noun 1. winning streak - a streak of wins streak, run - an unbroken series of events; "had a streak of bad luck"; "Nicklaus had a run of birdies" since late March. They've only won four in a row once this season, during their 10-game winning streak, but they'll probably need a fourth straight victory - against Portland in the season finale - to guarantee home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. At 30-19, the Lakers are a half-game up on the fifth-seeded Houston Rockets, their first-round opponent, and hold the tiebreaker tie·break·er n. An additional contest or period of play designed to establish a winner among tied contestants. Also called tiebreak. tie edge after winning the season series 2-1. But the Rockets have probable victories in their final two games, at home against Minnesota and at Denver, so the Lakers will almost certainly need to beat the Blazers at the Forum on Wednesday to retain the fourth seed. The game started as most recent Lakers games have - with a first-quarter deficit. After taking an early 18-10 lead the Lakers got soft on defense, and the Mavericks, behind Michael Finley, charged back with a 10-3 run to pull within a point and eventually grabbed a 29-25 lead by the end of the opening period. That momentum carried into the next quarter, as Dallas mounted a 13-0 run from late in the first quarter to early in the second to increase its lead to nine points. That was all it took to snap the Lakers out of it. Rick Fox hit a 3-pointer to start a 14-4 run that gave the Lakers a 43-42 lead with five minutes left in the half, and the teams traded the lead five times before Dallas took a 57-55 lead into halftime. BEST IN THE WEST A look at the race for the eight playoff seeds in the Western Conference: Team W L Pct GB 1.Utah-x 36 13 .735 -- 2.San Antonio-x 35 13 .729 -1/2 3.Portland-x 35 13 .729 -1/2 4.Lakers-x 30 19 .604 6 5.Houston-x 29 19 .604 6-1/2 6.Phoenix-x 2623 .531 10 6.Sacramento-x 26 23 .521 10 8.Minnesota-x 25 23 .521 10-1/2 Seattle 23 25 .479 12-1/2 x-clinched playoff berth CAPTION(S): Photo, Box PHOTO (Color) The Lakers' J.R. Reid tries to knock the ball away from Dallas' Dirk Nowitzski in the first quarter Monday. David Crane/Daily News BOX: BEST IN THE WEST (see text) |
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